Polaroid is an Italian music blog. And, generally, if you're doing an indie music blog and you're dealing with a lot of bands with no label behind them, they appreciate your help in getting their music out there for people to hear. So you might get to know them fairly well. Well enough to ask them to record a Christmas exclusively song for your blog even. The proprietor of Polaroid has done just that for the last few years and it always ends up being one of the most interesting free and legal download collections of the Christmas season. Not every song is a Christmas song, but most are. The songs are diverse in both style and country of origin. So there are bound to be songs you like and songs you don't. "A Polaroid For Christmas 2010" has got some good ones, though. My favorites from this set are "Snow Globes" from the Ian Fays, "Gain Your Tears" from Olympic Tiger (not Christmas, I don't think), and the terrific Darlene Love cover. And I always get a kick out of Soda Fountain Rag, who generally record an annual Christmas song whether anyone asks them to or not. In fact, at least three of the Norwegian performer's previous holiday tracks are right there on Last FM's "featured tracks"--"Jullaten 2007", "The Christmas Where It Ends", and "Hang Your Stocking By The Fire". In addition to the 9 tracks shown here, Polaroid has been adding a few bonus tracks. So, if your zip file doesn't contain them, make sure to get "Raccoon Thief" by Last Europa Kiss and "Merry Christmas" by Young Wrists.

Technically, this was put together in 2009, but the track from The Jealous Sea has been making the rounds this year and the folks who put this together--Something For The Longing--have just reposted it with fresh download links. Some very nice stuff here in the Indie Pop and Twee Pop vein mostly, a little Lo-Fi and Shoegaze mixed in. But forget the labels and listen to the music. This one's a delight from start to finish. The collection begins with the most delicate version of Low's "Just Like Christmas" I've ever heard (and I adore that song). We get some interesting song selection ("Christmas Is All Around", the Billy Mack Troggs' cover, a Captain Sensible cover, a Pearl Fishers cover), some irresistible performances, a couple of winning originals. And then the whole thing closes out with a performance of "Winter Wonderland" you just can't turn away from. If you dig the Indie Pop sound and you missed it last year, pick this one up now from Something For The Longing. "Holly, Ivy, & Mistletunes" is a winner.

The FREE List

Here we hope to direct you to some of the Christmas music on the web that can be yours absolutely free. We will not direct you to mp3 or sharity sites, here, but only to artist sites, label sites, and other authorized and unquestionably legal locations.